A’s take a 3-0 lead, but let it slip away
Miscue in fifth inning triggers Tampa Bay’s rally against Irvin
It’s something A’s manager Bob Melvin has said on multiple occasions throughout the young 2021 season: A close game often comes down to one clearly identifiable moment. It could be a single pitch, hit or error. Maybe it’s a pitching change at the wrong time or a pinch hitter that shouldn’t have come into the game.
In Oakland’s 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, a fifth-inning dropped pop up by A’s catcher Sean Murphy was the catalyst for his team’s defeat. Was it the only mistake the A’s made throughout the contest? No. But it certainly got things trending in the wrong direction and the A’s eventually fell to 21-15 on the season.
“Today was a day that we had some opportunities to win,” Melvin said. “We had a 3-0 lead and we felt good about where we were going and it would have been nice to finish it off. It’s on to the next.”
Murphy’s defensive blunder allowed Rays second baseman Mike Brosseau to reach base, ending A’s starter Cole Irvin’s streak of 12 consecutive batters retired. Four pitches later, Tampa Bay’s Joey
Wendle hit a double on a ball that snuck under A’s first baseman Matt Olson’s glove. Two batters later, the Rays’ Willy Adames powered a home run to right field.
“You’ve got to give Adames some credit,” Melvin said. “(Irvin) is painting out there all day long and (Adames) hit a ball and went the other way. The wind was kind of blowing out a little bit and he hit a homer.”
Adames’ home run tied the game at 3-3 and an inning later Brosseau homered to left to give the Rays a lead they never relinquished.
But it was that error in the fifth inning that clearly left Irvin (3-4) rattled. After the 27-year-old southpaw threw just 44 pitches in his first four innings of work, it took him 21 pitches to get through the fifth inning and 17 to get through the sixth.
Irvin allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings pitched, marking the first time since April 8 that he allowed four runs to score. The way Melvin sees it, Irvin’s outing was a positive one despite the loss.
“He pitched well and only gave up four hits,” Melvin said. “Basically it was one ball that you really have to give a hitter some credit on.”
Get that one ball back and Irvin is likely looking at a victory on Sunday. Until things unraveled on him in the fifth inning, he was able to pound the strike zone with his fourseam fastball, slider and changeup and forced the Rays to put balls in play. Even with Adames and Brosseau’s home runs, Irvin still delivered his fifth consecutive quality start. He still felt like there was a lot left to be desired.
“I think I should have pitched better to keep us more in that ballgame and give us a chance to win it,” Irvin said. “I’m disappointed in the result.
“I felt like I could have done more and that I may have left a little in the tank. Not on purpose but just in terms of looking through my velocity, I felt like I was down. I just know where I need to improve going into my next start.”
Despite its clear significance to the outcome of the game, Murphy’s error was far from the A’s only issue on Sunday.
The Oakland offense left five runners on base, includ- ing Elvis Andrus, who hit a two-out triple to right in the seventh and never scored. All three of the A’s runs came in the fourth inning.
“We always feel good late in games here,” Melvin said. “(The Rays) got the job done today and we just came up a little bit short. We had some chances out there.”
Olson was responsible for a base-running mistake that may have cost his team the tying run in the eighth inning when he hesitated after a wild pitch and was thrown out trying to advance to third with two outs. The A’s did not get any runners on base in the ninth inning.
“The ball that gets by the catcher, it’s kind of a tough read for the guy on second,” Melvin said. “He hesitated for a second and got thrown out but when it was straight behind the catcher, it’s kind of a tough read for him.”
The A’s loss on Sunday did come with several positives, despite the mistakes. A’s third baseman Matt Chapman recorded three hits, his first multi-hit game since April 29. Chapman entered play hitting .195 and was able to raise his batting average to .213. He’s recorded at least one hit in 10 of his last 12 games.
“Unfortunately, those knocks didn’t lead to us winning the game which is obviously the most important but it’s something you can always build off of,” Chapman said.
Oakland right-handed reliever Burch Smith made his first appearance since returning from the injured list and retired all six batters he faced.
“He was terrific,” Melvin said. “We’ve seen him pitch really well for us. His (velocity) was good and he had good spin at the top of the zone … He pitched well and kept us in the game.”
It may not have ended the way they wanted it to but the A’s played reasonably well in seven games against Tampa Bay. Oakland won the season series 4-3, an impressive accomplishment considering all seven games were decided by three or fewer runs against the reigning AL champion.
For the A’s players, the competitive nature of the series and their ability to win it is encouraging.
“To be able to take four out of seven against them is something we can feel good about,” Chapman said. “That’s a team that has played late into the postseason and is also a team that we’ve been knocked out of the playoffs by. We feel good about these games that we played against them and I’m sure we’ll be seeing them down the road.”
The A’s have the day off today, their first off-day in 17 days, and will travel to Boston for a three-game series against the Red Sox. With A’s starters Mike Fiers and Jesus Luzardo on the injured list, it is unclear what their rotation will look like throughout the road trip. Regardless, the A’s are confident with their body of work so far and what they can deliver moving forward.
“We’ve been playing a lot of good teams and I feel good about where our team is at,” Chapman said. “I think everybody feels good. We’re playing good baseball and we feel like we’re capable of playing even better. We just have to keep working and we like where we’re at right now.”